“We count everything.” ~ Billy Chapel in “For Love of the Game”
Baseball is famous for keeping statistics on everything. History is such an important part of the game. The history of the sport is passed down from generation to generation; it’s a living history. While it is hard to compare players from one era to another, some things just stick out. Here are three players with amazing stats.
Greg Maddux was a right-handed pitcher, 6 foot, 195lbs, who played in the majors from September 3, 1986 to September 27, 2008. He finished his career with a win / loss record of 355-227, an Earned Run Average of 3.16 and 3,371 Strike Outs. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, back to the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego padres and finished back with the Dodgers. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Amazing Stat: He faced 20,421 batters during his career and saw only 310 3-0 counts. 177 of those were intentional walks.
Stan “The Man” Musial, was a 6 foot, 175lbs outfielder / first baseman who played his entire 22-year career for the Saint Louis Cardinals, from 1941-1944 and 1946-1963. He threw and batted left-handed. His career stats, Batting Average .331, Hits 3,630, Home Runs 475 and Runs Batted In 1,951. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969.
Amazing Stat: Of his 3,630 career hits, 1,815 were at home and 1,815 on the road.
Bob “Gibby” Gibson, a 6-foot 2 inch, 195lbs right-handed pitch who made is major league debut on April 15, 1959 and pitched his last game on September 1975, all 17 years with the Saint Louis Cardinals. His career win / lose record was 251-174, Earned Run Average 2.91 and had a total of 3,117 Strike Outs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Besides playing Major League Baseball, Bob played with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Bob was an outstanding athlete and was fiercely competitive. He once told his battery mate, catcher Tim McCarver when he came out to the mound to talk with him, “The only thing you know about pitching is that it’s hard to hit.” He is currently fighting pancreatic cancer. I wish him well and personally think his cancer doesn’t stand a chance!
Amazing Fact: Gibson, while pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 15,1967, was hit on his right leg by a Roberto Clemente line drive. Bob faced three more batters before collapsing, he had been unaware that his lower leg had fractured, his right fibula snapped above his ankle.
Amazing Stat: In 1968, Bob Gibson had 34 starts, 28 complete games, and was removed for a pinch hitter six times. His manager, Red Schoendienst did not remove him from the mound the entire season. His record that year, 22-9 with an unbelievable 1.12 ERA.
We will re-visit this theme from time to time I ‘m sure.
~ Coach Mike
Baseball is famous for keeping statistics on everything. History is such an important part of the game. The history of the sport is passed down from generation to generation; it’s a living history. While it is hard to compare players from one era to another, some things just stick out. Here are three players with amazing stats.
Greg Maddux was a right-handed pitcher, 6 foot, 195lbs, who played in the majors from September 3, 1986 to September 27, 2008. He finished his career with a win / loss record of 355-227, an Earned Run Average of 3.16 and 3,371 Strike Outs. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, back to the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego padres and finished back with the Dodgers. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Amazing Stat: He faced 20,421 batters during his career and saw only 310 3-0 counts. 177 of those were intentional walks.
Stan “The Man” Musial, was a 6 foot, 175lbs outfielder / first baseman who played his entire 22-year career for the Saint Louis Cardinals, from 1941-1944 and 1946-1963. He threw and batted left-handed. His career stats, Batting Average .331, Hits 3,630, Home Runs 475 and Runs Batted In 1,951. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969.
Amazing Stat: Of his 3,630 career hits, 1,815 were at home and 1,815 on the road.
Bob “Gibby” Gibson, a 6-foot 2 inch, 195lbs right-handed pitch who made is major league debut on April 15, 1959 and pitched his last game on September 1975, all 17 years with the Saint Louis Cardinals. His career win / lose record was 251-174, Earned Run Average 2.91 and had a total of 3,117 Strike Outs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Besides playing Major League Baseball, Bob played with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Bob was an outstanding athlete and was fiercely competitive. He once told his battery mate, catcher Tim McCarver when he came out to the mound to talk with him, “The only thing you know about pitching is that it’s hard to hit.” He is currently fighting pancreatic cancer. I wish him well and personally think his cancer doesn’t stand a chance!
Amazing Fact: Gibson, while pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 15,1967, was hit on his right leg by a Roberto Clemente line drive. Bob faced three more batters before collapsing, he had been unaware that his lower leg had fractured, his right fibula snapped above his ankle.
Amazing Stat: In 1968, Bob Gibson had 34 starts, 28 complete games, and was removed for a pinch hitter six times. His manager, Red Schoendienst did not remove him from the mound the entire season. His record that year, 22-9 with an unbelievable 1.12 ERA.
We will re-visit this theme from time to time I ‘m sure.
~ Coach Mike
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